


A Creature in the Temple of Time

by nocturne-of-forest (annathescavver)



Series: Nocturne does Linktober 2020 [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Arachnophobia, Blood and Injury, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Linktober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26776816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annathescavver/pseuds/nocturne-of-forest
Summary: Having traveled back to a past era, Link and Midna face the boss of the Temple of Time. The problem is, not only is the boss not in the temple anymore, Link is exhausted and injured from a previous fight.
Relationships: Link & Midna (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Nocturne does Linktober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952161
Kudos: 21





	A Creature in the Temple of Time

The air was cold. It settled in Link’s chest, constricting his lungs more and more with every pained breath. 

He pushed himself forward, boots slamming on the ground and the wind shrieking in his ears. Up a hill he went, trees all around him and a mist rising around his ankles. He put both hands before him, hoping to protect his face from the thick, thorn-riddled underbrush.

Over the rush of blood in his ears, he could hear it. The creature was behind him and gaining fast.

Trees came down behind him, loud crashes and snaps that sounded like breaking bones. The ground shook, the creature’s footsteps shaking the forest and maybe the whole world. Then, under that, was the sharp, unmistakable sound of its hungry jaws.

Link dared not look behind him. His footing was slippery at best, mud and snow smeared on his boots and roots catching him at every turn. His leg was going numb, the loss of sensation increasing with every step.

A branch tugged at his tunic, and he spent three precious seconds struggling with it until, with a sound that was somewhere between terrified and angry, he ripped his shirt free and continued running.

He would feel it right behind him, now. Was that its eye he felt on his back, its breath on his heels?

Looking ahead, he could make out the stone building in the distance. And, in the ground behind it, the giant hole that left rubble strewn across the forest floor. Nearby was the ruins of some town, the buildings blackened by soot and shrouded in a red haze. And, in the distance, what looked like Hyrule Castle. Only, it looked like it was lit by hellish flames.

Finally glancing backward, Link looked up at the creature. A giant gohma, or spider-like monster, it towered over him. It was so close, close enough that he could see the hair on each of its multiple legs and the long, saliva-covered fangs. Its eye was a large, reddish orb and he had no doubt that it could see him despite being located on the creature’s back.

Stifling a shudder, Link threw himself through the hole. He skidded downward and stumbled into the large, dark room.

The creature was seconds behind him. With a roar, it pushed its way into the room. More stone blocks were dislodged and they crumbled to the ground with a sound like thunder.

Link backed away. One hand went to his leg, fingers twisting the fabric of his trousers as if that could stop the cold numbness and the trembling. He looked around, frantically taking in the room until his eyes snagged on the statues lining the wall. He limped towards one of them.

There was a scrambling sound and he looked up to see the creature scaling the wall. Soon it was on the ceiling, staring down at him with its single, deadly eye. Its eye began to glow, the orange and crimson color painting the grey stone of the room. There was a warmth, too, and the hair on the back of Link’s neck rose at the feeling.

“Move, Link!”

He was shoved, spurred into action as fire rained down from the creature’s eye. He had no time to wonder how strange that was. All he could do was stumble out of its reach and wait for it to stop. When it did, he collapsed against the wall, panting and holding his side.

His shadow moved, materializing into his friend and traveling companion, Midna. She stared, horrified, as the creature began circling the room.

“We need to stun it, somehow,” Midna said. “Shoot its eye! Something that obvious, and that powerful? That’s bound to be its weak spot.”

With a nod, Link stood and drew his bow. When the creature came close enough, he fired and the arrow struck true. A piercing wail shook the room and he clutched his ears, eardrums ringing. Then, unable to hold onto the ceiling, the creature fell to the floor, belly exposed.

“Now!” Midna said. She pointed to the statue nearby. “Take control of that thing!”

Link did so. He switched from his bow to the Dominion Rod, the small metal device he’d found earlier in the temple, and swung it at the statue. A tiny ball of golden light shot out of it and a moment later he felt the heavy tug in his hands. Gritting his teeth, he swung again, and the statue slammed down its fist into the creature’s soft underbelly.

There was a second cry, this one lower and much angrier. There was blood speckled on the statue’s fist.

But the creature did not stop.

Link watched as it drew itself back up and crawled to the ceiling once more. When Midna tapped his shoulder, urging him to shoot it again, he wasted no time in following her suggestion. Three arrows went wide and he cursed his shaking hands and fading strength. The fourth pierced the eye, and the process was repeated.

This time, instead of climbing the wall, the creature approached him. It was fast, lunging forward in a blur. Its fangs shone like steel.

Link threw himself forward. He went under its fangs, under its body, and rolled until he stood behind it. Nocking an arrow, he moved around it and looked for its eye. There. But at the angle he stood, he would never hit it.

The creature turned, hissing and snapping its jaws. Ignoring the goosebumps on his arms and the coldness in his blood, he led it away towards the nearest statue.

It loomed over his head, preparing to strike. He had seconds. Seconds until it would bite down and he would lose.

Desperately, he seized control of the statue and swung the Dominion Rod. Just as the creature bit down, the statue slammed it into the floor. 

The creature wriggled, legs curling and popping grotesquely, before disappearing into a cloud of thick, oily smoke.

Link let out a sigh and put his weapons away. He turned, hoping to find a seat somewhere against the wall. Before he could take another step, however, he heard Midna’s voice again.

“Link, get your hide back over here!” she said. “Something’s happening. It’s not done.”

That something, it turned out, was a writhing mass of smaller gohmas and their twitching limbs. In the middle was the largest one, its back looking eerily like the former creature’s eye. They surged towards him in a horrifying wave.

Swallowing back his revulsion, Link used the Dominion Rod one last time and the gohmas were dead.

This time, the creatures broke apart into tiny black crystals and then gathered together to form one jagged mass. Link held out his hands and, careful not to touch it, passed the Mirror Shard to Midna.

“Three down,” she mused, taking hold of it. “One more to go.”

Link nodded. His attention was already slipping as he felt chills race up and down his spine. He wavered, feeling feverish. The room spun, faster and faster, until he was suddenly on his side, cheek pressed against the cold stone. It felt good, that iciness, and he closed his eyes to savor it.

The boss was defeated. They had the Mirror Shard. Now, he could just close his eyes for a while and...

Someone turned him over. There was a voice, too, one laced with fear and anger. He blinked open his eyes, straining to see through the haziness clouding his vision.

“Link, why didn’t you say something?” Midna demanded. She was floating above him, hands fisted at her sides. “You’re injured. Don’t think I didn’t realize.”

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. His voice was frozen, choked in his throat.

“Nevermind. Save your strength.” Midna began checking him over, trying and failing to hide her worry. Soon, she discovered the festering wound on his leg. She peeled the fabric away from the wound, slapping away his hand when he reached out to stop her. 

“You kept this from me,” she hissed. “All this time? We could have done something about it!”

Grumbling to herself, she pulled his satchel into her lap and dug through it until she found what she wanted. She tossed aside a roll of linen bandages, a small bottle of salve, and then the satchel itself, and set to work. As she did, she worried her lip between her pointed teeth.

“Looks like a few of those spiders bit you,” she said when she was done. “Let’s just hope they’re not venomous.”

There wasn’t much hope for that, Link thought. He could barely feel his leg anymore, and he could not move his toes.

He’d been bitten by spiders before. Small ones often made their homes in the trees of Faron Woods, and he’d come across plenty in his own home. Usually, he took a stick, or a broom if they were bigger, and shooed them out. Sometimes, though, they got a bite in. He’d deal with itchy red bumps for a few days, but that was the extent of it. And any bite he’d received from a skulltula had only left pinpricks, no itching and certainly no feverish, inflamed flesh.

Midna lightly slapped the side of his face. “Don’t you dare close your eyes on me!” she snapped. “Here. This is your last potion.”

She lifted his head and held the glass bottle to his lips until every drop of the red liquid was gone.

She placed her free hand on his forehead, and the cool feeling seared against his fever. Link’s teeth began to chatter and he reached out, trembling fingers seeking something, anything, to hold onto.

“Hey, hey, now,” Midna said. She took one hand, and then the other and pushed them towards his chest where she could hold them better. “Stop that. I’m right here. It’s okay.”

Lowering his head back to the ground, she looked around. There was nothing. Only an empty, lonely basement in an era they did not belong in.

“We need to get you out of here,” she continued. “But even if I knew how to time travel, I’m not sure I could get the exact time right. I get that wrong and…”

She shook herself. “I can get you to the beginning of this place, though. Hold on, Link.”

He closed his eyes as the portal rose around them. There was that familiar tugging sensation, that feeling of being transformed into a million black crystals and then reforming seconds later. The portal disappeared, leaving him laying in the middle of the foyer and staring at the marble spinning around him.

“You need to see a healer,” Midna said. “I don’t know much about all this medical stuff, much less the type you light dwellers need. That venom could get worse.”

Well, considering he was still alive, Link figured he’d be fine.

Not that he wasn’t still in a lot of pain. His head hurt. He felt cold one moment and hot the next, the two feelings flashing through him one after another. The potion had halted the spread of the numbness, but had done nothing to reverse it.

“We could try talking to the shaman in Kakariko,” she said. “Oh, no, no...to try and explain all of this to him…”

“Take me home, then,” Link managed to say. “The spring in Ordon can heal me.”

"Okay, fair enough. But can you walk that far?”

Link followed her pointing finger to the temple’s entrance. He nodded. “...can you help me stand up?”

Midna rose into the air. She took one of his hands in both of hers and pulled him to his feet. She did not let go until he stopped swaying.

Slowly, they made their way to the entrance. The portal shimmered before them, light and color shifting beautifully. Sharing a look, they braced themselves and stepped through it. As they did so, Link swore that, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flash of green and a pair of incredulous blue eyes.

Then they were back in the Sacred Grove. The moon floated high above and owls hooted from the treetops. Link collapsed again, legs unable to hold his weight a moment longer. Sweat trickled down his temple and he could feel his erratic heartbeat in the tips of his fingers. Midna was at his side in a heartbeat. She snapped her fingers and a portal appeared above them.

They arrived at the Ordon Spring seconds later. Midna gently lowered him into the warm, healing water. She could feel the presence of the Light Spirit, but instead of backing away she held her ground. She was going to stay right there until she knew Link would be okay. The Light Spirit was just going to have to deal with it.

Nausea bubbled at the back of Link’s throat. The tug and pull of the portal had made him feel sick and he gritted his teeth against it.

He felt himself drifting. Darkness closed over his head, and he fell into a deep, fitful slumber. He dreamed of that giant gohma and this time it caught him. One leg seized him and dragged him, kicking and screaming, towards its jaws. Just as its teeth closed over him, he woke.

Midna was still nearby. She was on the bank of the spring, curled on her side. She had removed her metal helmet and was using his satchel, and a spare shirt of his, as a bed. Whether or not she was actually sleeping, he didn’t know, but the fact that she hadn’t disappeared into his shadow was concerning.

He dragged himself into a sitting position and reached towards his leg. The bandage was stained with a few spots of blood. The skin around the bandage was red still, but the swelling was down considerably.

Gently touching the bandages, he said, “Thanks, Ordona. Sorry, I know I’m kind of a mess right now.”

There was no reply, but he felt the reassurance of the Light Spirit anyway.

With a faint smile, he closed his eyes again and this time there were no nightmares.

**Author's Note:**

> So I thought I would try my hand at some of the prompts for Linktober. I don't think I'll do them all, and I probably won't stick with just one calendar. The prompt for this one was "Gohma." Either way, all the info can be found here: https://www.linktober.com/
> 
> Also, I figure this takes place after my other short story, "A Chase Through Time."
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a great day!


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